Superintendent Barnett Delivers Hats Off Performance On First Report Card

Superintendent Barnett Delivers Hats Off Performance On First Report Card

Cullman County Board of Education’s (CCBoE) fateful decision in March of 2016 to hire a local newcomer superintendent to salvage a previously negative leadership situation was empirically valididated Monday night.

The aggregate average grades across all areas of evaluation for Superintendent Barnette were reported as follows

• 4.0 (Above Average) – from all School Board members
• 4.4 (above Above Average) – from all top School Administrators

This assessment is Barnette’s first AASB ‘report card’ after concluding his first full year as County Schools superintendent.

Barnette was appointed as superintendent in March 2016 replacing well-liked interim leader Brandon Payne who – to the surprise of many – left the school system to serve in the private sector. In hindsight, Payne’s short term in office acted as a crucial stop-gap following the controversial departure of former Superintendent Craig Ross in late 2015.

For comparison purposes, Ross’ last report card in 2015 delivered the following results:

• 3.5 (above Satisfactory) – from all School Board members
• 4.2 (above Above Average) – from all top School Administrators

This year’s report card reveals the 7-member CCBoE approved of Barnette’s performance significantly more than they did of Dr. Ross efforts.

Top administrators also positively endorsed the first-time superintendent’s work in 2016-17 out polling Ross by .2.

The AASB provides a diverse array of critical functions for education across the state. One of its most important missions is the administration, collection, assessment, evaluation and public presentation of each Alabama school system Superintendent’s performance.

This process is time consuming, complex and mathematically intricate.

In the case of Mr. Bartnette, the Alabama Association of School Boards presented the seven (7) Cullman School Board members with an evaluation questionnaire in earlier in the year (all board members responded).

A slightly modified and less complicated version of this assessment questionnaire was provided to top Cullman County School Administrators and Central Office Staff.

This assessment survey is/was extensive. It delved into almost every conceivable aspect of Barnette’s professional responsibilities and performance inside the school system.

School Board members and administrators provided written, accurate answers about Dr. Ross’ performance to the independent AASB organization.

It was an anonymous process; the answers associated with their names were NOT revealed to Superintendent Barnette. This anonymity eliminates the possibility of favoritism, bias, and concerns of retribution for low ratings.

The AASB’s methodology and execution of their evaluations over the years has been accepted statewide as accurate, fair and illuminating.

While we do not have AASB assessment results from other first-time superintendents from around the state, Barnette’s strong 2016-17 report card speaks for itself.

The results validate the CCBoE’s fateful decision to hire a local newcomer to salvage a previously negative superintendent situation. Hats off to Superintendent Barnett.

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